Guide for buyers living in Indonesia
Buying property abroad from Indonesia
Rules last checked 30 October 2026 · 3 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
What a buyer living in Indonesia meets before and after buying a home abroad: sending the money out, tax at home on the rent and the sale, and the forms to file.
The three things to know
- Sending money abroad
Indonesia sets a threshold of USD 50,000 per person per month from 1 April 2026 for buying foreign currency against rupiah on a written statement, and a larger purchase needs underlying documents shown to the bank.
- Tax at home
Indonesia taxes a resident on income from inside and outside the country, including rent and gains on assets, and credits foreign tax paid up to the Indonesian tax on that income, calculated for each country.
Sending money abroad
A limit
- Rule
For a cash (spot) purchase of foreign currency against rupiah, the threshold is USD 50,000 or its equivalent per month per person in the foreign exchange market, and below it the customer gives the bank a written statement.
- Limit
50,000 USD per calendar month per person
- From
1 April 2026
A report
- Rule
Above the threshold the bank requires underlying documents, and the underlying activities the regulation recognises include current account, financial account and capital account activity.
- From
1 April 2026
For buying a home abroad
- Rule
The Bank Indonesia regulation read lists capital account activity as a qualifying underlying but does not name the purchase of a home abroad.
Tax at home
An individual is a resident taxpayer by living in Indonesia, by staying more than 183 days in a 12 month period, or by intending to reside in Indonesia in the tax year.
Rent from a home abroad
- Rule
A resident taxpayer is taxed on income from Indonesia and from outside Indonesia, and rent from the use of property is listed as taxable income.
Gain on selling a home abroad
- Rule
A resident taxpayer's income includes gains from selling or transferring assets, whether from Indonesia or outside Indonesia.
Relief for tax paid abroad
- Rule
Foreign tax paid or owed on income earned abroad can be credited against Indonesian income tax in the same tax year, limited to the Indonesian tax on that income, with the limit calculated for each country separately.
How Freeholt models Indonesia residents with property abroad
Where to look
Choose a country to see what its rules say for a buyer with a Indonesia passport living in Indonesia.
Check a country for a passport
Australia
Depends on the propertyPassport: Indonesia. Buyer lives outside Australia. Reading for a home.
Different property types carry different readings. The country guide lists each one.
Australia requires a foreign person to obtain foreign investment approval before buying residential land, and from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 buying an established dwelling is generally banned, while vacant land and new dwellings stay open with approval. Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens are not caught.
Rules last checked 29 October 2026
Questions people ask
What if an Indonesian resident buys foreign currency to pay for a home abroad?
From 1 April 2026 the threshold is USD 50,000 or equivalent per person per month for a cash purchase of foreign currency against rupiah, and below it a written statement is given. Above it the bank requires underlying documents.
Was the threshold different before April 2026?
Yes. The earlier Bank Indonesia regulation used USD 100,000 per month per person for such purchases, and Regulation 7 of 2026 lowered it to USD 50,000 from 1 April 2026.
How does Indonesia tax rent from a home abroad?
A resident taxpayer is taxed on income from inside and outside Indonesia, and rent from using property is taxable income. Foreign tax can be credited up to the Indonesian tax on that income.
What if the owner spends part of the year abroad?
An individual is a resident taxpayer by living in Indonesia, by being in Indonesia more than 183 days in a 12 month period, or by intending to reside there in the tax year.
How is the credit for foreign tax limited?
The credit cannot exceed the Indonesian tax calculated on that foreign income, and the maximum is worked out for each country separately.
Does the sale of a home abroad count as income?
Gains from selling or transferring assets are part of taxable income for a resident, from Indonesia or from outside it.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- Whether the purchase of a home abroad counts as a qualifying underlying for a foreign currency purchase above USD 50,000 could not be confirmed from the regulation read.
- The rates that apply to foreign rent and to a gain on a home abroad could not be confirmed from the current consolidated income tax law.
- The duty to list assets held abroad in the annual tax return could not be confirmed from an official page read.
- The wealth or property tax position on foreign assets could not be confirmed from an official source.
- The 2008 income tax law text read has since been amended, so the current wording of articles 2, 4 and 24 could not be confirmed.
Sources
Official pages these figures come from (3)
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property abroad next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 30 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.